Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta

  

Creamy Pesto Pasta Chicken makes a fabulous weeknight meal. Not only is it quick and easy to make, but it is incredibly delicious and uses things which most of us have on hand most of the time in our larders and refrigerators.

I don't know about you, but chicken is the one thing that I cook most of the time in my kitchen. It is, to put it simply, my protein of choice.  Not only is it fairly affordable, but it is incredibly versatile, and one of my favorite things to cook and to eat! 

 

I saw this recipe for Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta on Pinterest a few weeks back. Attributed to Julia's Album it immediately caught my eye, with it's bright fresh flavors and colors.

I put it on my list of recipes that I wanted to try.  Let it be noted the original recipe made four servings. I have cut that down to two servings and I actually only cooked one serving for myself. No waste here! 

With a creamy delicious pesto sauced pasta, garlic roasted cherry tomatoes and asparagus, perfectly cooked tender pieces of chicken and crunchy pine nuts, there is much to love about this quick and easy pasta recipe!

 

    WHAT YOU NEED TO COOK CREAMY CHICKEN PESTO PASTA

Simple everyday ingredients.  There is nothing too out of the ordinary here.

For the roasted tomatoes:

• 5 ounces of cherry tomatoes, halved (about 9 tomatoes)
• 2 large stalks of asparagus, washed and trimmed
• 1 TBS olive oil (I used garlic olive oil by Fody)
• 1 fat clove garlic minced

 

For the Chicken Pesto Pasta:

• 1 TBS light olive oil
• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
• fine sea salt, black pepper and ground paprika to taste
• 4 ounces (1 cup) of bow tie (Farfalle) pasta (can also use penne or fusilli)
• 1 heaped TBS of basil pesto
• 1/4 cup (60ml) heavy cream
• 2 TBS lightly toasted pine nuts (optional)

Because of  my IBS I can no longer tolerate eating onions or garlic, at least not often. To infuse the flavor of garlic into the roasted cherry tomatoes I used garlic infused olive oil. It works beautifully.

I used a good store bought basil pesto this time, but I often make my own pesto.  You can find my recipe for A Simple Basil Pesto here.  Its really good and not all that difficult to make so long as you have access to a foodprocessor.

 

Pesto is actually an ingredient that I use often on here. I have quite a few recipes which use this delicious ingredient!  Some of my favorites are:

Skillet Chicken and Rigatoni with Pesto - A delicious quick and easy weeknight supper that cooks in one pan!  (You could also use leftover cooked chicken and cooked pasta shapes in this.) 

Pasta Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Asparagus - A deliciously different Pasta Salad.  Easy to make, quick, colorful and very tasty with fresh spring asparagus and a punchy pesto dressing!

Mini Scone Focaccia Breads -  A lot easier and quicker to make than a traditional focaccia bread, these are incredibly moreish and go very well with soups, salads and main courses.

Spinach and Gruyere Tart -  A fabulously tasty recipe for a quick and easy to make free form tart that I got many years ago from my good friend Audrey.  Its fabulously delicious! 

 

HOW TO MAKE CREAMY CHICKEN PESTO PASTA

This might look complicated but I can assure you that it is very easy to make and if you have everything in place it goes together very quickly! 

Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Line a small baking tray with nonstick foil. Toss the cherry tomatoes with the oil and minced garlic. Spread on the baking tray. Roast for about 10 minutes, add the asparagus spears and roast for a further 10 minutes while you prep the remainder of the dish.

Slice your chicken breast in half horizontally. Season on both sides with the salt, pepper and paprika. 

Put the water on for your pasta. (Lightly salted.) Bring to the boil while cooking the chicken. 

Heat the oil in a medium sized skillet for the chicken over medium high heat until hot. Add the chicken and cook for about 5 minutes per side, until golden brown and cooked through. The juices should no longer run pink.

 

 

Remove to a plate and tent lightly with foil to keep warm. Add your pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the package directions. Drain well, rinse, and drain again.

Add the cream and pesto to the same skillet you cooked the chicken in. Add the drained pasta, tossing to coat it well in the sauce. Cut the asparagus spears into 2 inch lengths and add to the pan. Bring to a simmer and heat through.

Slice your chicken breast into thinnish slices. Top the pasta with the sliced chicken breast. Scatter the roasted tomatoes and pine nuts over top. Serve immediately.

I really hope that you will be inspired to cook this delicious pasta recipe.  Quick, easy and delicious it has become a firm favorite with me that I know I will cook again and again! 

A grating of fresh Parmesan cheese would go wonderfully lightly dusting the top of this tasty dish. I think some warm crusty bread would also go well.

The juices from those delicious roasted cherry tomatoes leak into that rich creamy sauce, creating something that is incredibly tasty!  Everything together was quite simply wonderful!

Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta

Yield: 2

Author: Marie Rayner

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 30 Min

This deliciously creamy chicken pesto pasta is a fabulous choice for a weeknight dinner. Sized perfectly for two, it uses basic every day ingredients. You can use store-bought basil pesto, or make your own from scratch.

Ingredients

For the roasted tomatoes:

• 5 ounces of cherry tomatoes, halved (about 9 tomatoes)
• 2 large stalks of asparagus, washed and trimmed
• 1 TBS olive oil (I used garlic olive oil by Fody)
• 1 fat clove garlic minced

For the Chicken Pesto Pasta

• 1 TBS light olive oil
• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
• fine sea salt, black pepper and ground paprika to taste
• 4 ounces (1 cup) of bow tie (Farfalle) pasta (can also use penne or fusilli)
• 1 heaped TBS of basil pesto
• 1/4 cup (60ml) heavy cream
• 2 TBS lightly toasted pine nuts (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Line a small baking tray with nonstick foil.
2. Toss the cherry tomatoes with the oil and minced garlic. Spread on the baking tray. Roast for about 10 minutes, add the asparagus spears and roast for a further 10 minutes while you prep the remainder of the dish.
3. Slice your chicken breast in half horizontally. Season on both sides with the salt, pepper and paprika.
4. Put the water on for your pasta. (Lightly salted.) Bring to the boil while cooking the chicken.
5. Heat the oil in a medium sized skillet for the chicken over medium high heat until hot. Add the chicken and cook for about 5 minutes per side, until golden brown and cooked through. The juices should no longer run pink.
6. Remove to a plate and tent lightly with foil to keep warm.
7. Add your pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the package directions. Drain well, rinse, and drain again.
8. Add the cream and pesto to the same skillet you cooked the chicken in. Add the drained pasta, tossing to coat it well in the sauce. Cut the asparagus spears into 2 inch lengths and add to the pan. Bring to a simmer and heat through.
9. Slice your chicken breast into thinnish slices. Top the pasta with the sliced chicken breast. Scatter the roasted tomatoes and pine nuts over top. Serve immediately.

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